Fire-door safety device.



T. H. LAWRENCE.

FIRE DOOR SAFETY DEVICE.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 29, 1913.

1,078,361 Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

lwuanto o UNITED STATES V PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS H. LAWRENCE, 015 NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-DOOR- SAFETY DEVICE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THoMAs H. LAWRENCE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Door Safety Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act description.

This invention relates more particularly to means for automatically closing an opening forming a communication from one fioor to another in a building in case of fire.

111 buildings it is very often necessary to provide hatchways, chutes or openings from one floor to another and especially so where letters, baskets or other articles are forwarded by means of traveling cars or baskets from one floor to another in order that tracks or guides may be arranged for guiding the baskets or cars. In such cases, the fire underwriters require, or it is desirable for materially decreasing the cost of insurance, means whereby these openings may be automatically closed in case of fire. It is desirable that these openings be closed in such a way that the fire will not be permitted to pass from one floor to another before the openings are closed for otherwise the fire cannot be confined below the openings where the doors are located.

One of the principal objects of this inven tion is to provide simple and etficient means whereby one or more openings may be automatically closed by a door or doors or other member or members in case of fire, and which means is so located that the door will close before the fire can pass through the opening from one floor to another of the building in which the said means is located.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and etficient means which cooperates with one or more doors or closing members and which automatically releases the door or doors so that the latter will automatically close by gravity when a part of said means separates when subjected to heat beyond a certain degree.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and efiicient means located in the opening over which the closing member, as a door, is held in an open position and which means includes one or more fusible members so that in case the fusible memher is subjected to the heat of a fire, the said Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 29, 1913.

Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

Serial No. 764,419.

fusible member or members will permit the door or closing member to drop by gravity and close the opening.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and will then be pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section showing how two doors may be supported So as to close automatically in case of fire. Fig. 2 is a detail view of one of the door-holding members. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a fusible member or device that may be employed; and Fig. 4 shows how two doors differently arranged may be supported so as to lower by gravity to close an opening or openings.

While the invention is shown as applied particularly to closing an opening from one floor to another for the purpose of permitting the passage of articles through the opening, and while the invention is shown applied for use in connection with a plurality of doors, it will be understood that the invention may be used for various purposes and in various connections and may be used to permit a single door or other member to automatically close an opening in case of Each floor 10 of the building may have a single opening or hatchway 11 therethrough or a plurality of openings if preferred, and said opening is adapted to be closed by a plurality of doors 12 and 13. The door 12 is hinged at 1 1 to a. cross-beam or bar 15 substantially central of the opening 11, and the door 13 is hinged at 16 to one edge or side of the opening 11. The door 13 is adapted to move toward the cross-bar 15 to close the space between the bar or beam 15 and the side of the opening to which the door is hinged, and the door 12 is adapted to move when closing toward the opposite side of the opening 11 to close that part of said opening. The reason for dividing the opening into two parts in the particular application of the invention shown, is to permit two track-ways to pass through the opening, one for the passage of the baskets or cars in one direction and the return of the baskets through the opening in the floor in the opposite direction in a manner somewhat similar to that of certain forms of cash systems employed in stores and other places.

The doors 12 and 13 each have a lug 17 on the underside thereof, and pivotally held to each lug is a rod 18. The rod 18 of the door 13 has its lower end engaging the outer end of a door holding or supporting device 19 and the rod 18 of the door 12 is engaged by a similar door holding member 20. These holding members 19 and 20 are similarly constructed and each are pivotally held, as by a screw 21 or otherwise, to a plate 22, though the said plate may be dispensed with if desired, and the latches pivoted directly to any suitable supporting means located within the opening 11, the purpose of the plate being to adapt substantially the entire device to be assembled and the mechanism more readily placed in position for use. The latches each extend at an angle in order that the same may drop by gravity when weight is exerted thereon, and each latch is provided with a laterally extending part or bracket 23 in which is a depression or recess 24 for the reception of the end of its cooperating rod 18. The doors as will be seen are positioned somewhat off a vertical plane, and it will be evident that if the devices 19 and 20 are free to move on their pivots, the weight of the doors 12 and 13 will be such as to force the latches downward thus permitting the doors to lower and close the upper portion of the opening 11.

To hold the latches against movement to properly support the doors in an open posi tion and to permit the latches and doors to automatically operate in case of fire, I pro vide a suitable flexible connection 25 between said latches. The flexible connection or chain shown may comprise a plurality of fusible links or members 26 which are connected together by chain members 27 if more than two links are employed. Two of the links 26 are each connected by a hook 28 to one of the latches and said flexible connection is adapted to pass over a pin or projection 29 located adjacent to the device 20 and under a pin or projection 30 located adjacent to the device 19. The chain also passes about a pin or projection 31 so that said chain or other flexible connection may remain taut and normally force the device 20 against a pin or stop 32 and the device 19 against a pin or stop 33 and to hold the same against movement. The fusible links 26, which are of the ordinary construction, each comprise two members 34 and 35 which are joined together by fusible material, as 36, so that in case a fire should occur within the building under the floor 10, the heat due to the fire will fuse the material 36 causing the members 34 and 35 to separate due to the tension thereon by reason of the weight of the doors and the latches 19 and 2.0, thus permitting the doors to automatically close and thereby confine the fire to the floor below and prevent the same from passing through the opening 11.

Fig. 4 shows a construction in which doors for closing the opening are differently arranged from that shown in Fig. 1 and the latches for the door-supporting means are also differently arranged, as well as the flexible connection. In this case there are two doors 37 and 38 forming the closing means for the opening 39 and these doors extend at an angle with respect to each other and move in opposite directions to close the opening. The door 38 is hinged at 39 to the bar or cross-beam 40, and the door 37 is hinged at 41 to said beam 40. Each door has a lug and a rod 43 in Fig. 1, and the rod of the door 37 is adapted to engage the outer end of a door holding or supporting device 45 and the rod of the door 38 is adapted to engage the outer edge of a similar door holding device 46. These devices 45 and 46 are substantially the same as already described in which the rods enter a depression in the lug or projection, as 47, but instead of the said latches being separated a distance apart, the devices 45 and 46 are pivotally held together at 48 and to a plate 49 which is secured by screws or otherwise within the opening 39. The latches extend angularly with respect to each other in opposite directions and each are held against a stop 50 by a chain or flexible connection 51. The chain 51 has one or more fusible links 52 as a part thereof and the chain passes about a pin or projection 53 located adjacent to the device 46, a pin or projection 54 located under said device, a pin located under the device 45 and finally over a pin or projection 56 located adjacent to the upper end of said device 45. The tension of the flexible connection and by reason of its passing around the pins 53 to 56 normally holds the latches against the stop 50 in a position to support the doors in an open position, but in case of fire, the heat will cause the separation of one or more of the links 52, as already described, which will permit the doors 37 and 38 to close auton'iatically.

It will be understood that the rods carried by the doors may be so held that at any time they may be disengaged from the latches and the doors closed in case it is desired to do this at night, holidays or at any other time.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that simple and efficient means is providedwhereby one or more doors or other closing members may be permitted to close an opening or openings automatically in case of fire; that said means is located and arranged that the fire will be confined below the place where the. doors are located; that said means for supporting the door in an open position is simple in construction and effective in use; and that said invention may be used in various connections and for various purposes. V

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination of a support having an opening, a movable member adapted to close said opening, a pivoted supporting device having a lateral projection provided with a recess on its upper face, a rod pivotally held to said member and having its end normally seated in said recess, and means for normally holding said supporting device against movement, said means including a fusible member which when subjected to heat will permit said movable member tomove automatically and close said opening.

2. The combination ofasupport having an opening, a movable member adapted to close said opening, a pivoted supporting device having a lateral projection provided with a recess on its upper face, a rod pivotally held to said member and having its end normally seated in said recess, and a flexible connection attached to said supporting device, said flexible connection including a fusible member which when subjected to heat Will permit said movable member to move automatically and close said opening.

3. The combination of a support having an opening, a plurality of doors adapted to close said opening, separate pivoted supporting devices for the respective doors, each supporting device having a projection provided with a recess on its upper face, rods pivotally held to the respective doors and each having its end normally seated in the recess of the corresponding supporting device, a flexible connection attached to the supporting devices, said flexible connection including a fusible member which when subjected to heat will permit the doors to move automatically and close said opening, and stops for limiting the movement of said sup porting devices in one direct-ion, whereby they are both normally held in position to retain the ends of the rods in the recesses.

This specification signed and witnessed this 26th day of April, A. D. 1913.

THOMAS H. LAWRENCE. Witnesses:

C. BARTELS, LESTER C. TAYLOR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

